Dol Borim
Dol Borim is a dwarven fortress city in the Jarlara Mountains that was once a member of the Orjeri Union. It is currently at war with the duergar fortress of Mol Gurihm. The city is the capital of the dwarven holds in the west of the mountains, it is connected to the surface with disused rails that serve as roads rather than actual tracks. History The Jarlara Mountains have over its history been controlled by various factions over the years as kingdoms that rule from a seat in the mountains, such as the Kingdom of Jar Lara, or as part of foreign empires that claim the region such as the Orjeri Union. Fall of Turath For more on this, see here. Following the collapse of the Empire of Turath the many former dwarven slaves of the of fiends fled to the mountains, led by Durgeddin the Black. Legends speak of the clan of Durgeddin doing battle with orcs and trolls, likely also victims of the Blood War, before reaching the great mountains north of Source where the great battles that ended the Empire took place. Durgeddin founded the fortress of Dol Borim, named for his son who he had lost in the fight against the orcs. There the clan began to mine and built its own domain, spread deeper and deeper into the earth, eventually encountering the duergar peoples of Mol Gurihm, whom they came into conflict with over resources and being driven into wars by the schemes of other races. Shardfall For more on this, see here. Before its annexation by the Orjeri Union, Dol Borim was a fortress in the west of the mountains of Jarlara that served as a military garrison standing against the historic enemeies, the orc and the duergar. Dol Borim was raided by a powerful orc tribe that briefly occupied the stronghold, tunneling their way into the city in a long fought siege, much of the dwarf's wealth was stolen by the orcs. Only the intervention of a group of Champions from the Orjeri Union prevented the entire population being put to the sword. In desperation the king of the dwarves asked the king of the duergar for aid to help rebuild. Agreeing, the duergar king requested that outsiders serve as mediators, the Orjeri Champions being asked to fulfill the role. During the course of the negotiations, the Union itself became more and more involved in the affairs of both races, eventually exerting such control as to force a peace between the two peoples. The two kingdoms, in conjunction with the Engineer Guild, began work on Jar Lara, a great city where their could be united as one people. For generations they lived in peace with the Union taming the lands where orcs and monsters had threatened the dwarves, whilst also delving into the Boneways to fend of threats from below. Union Not long before the fall of the Orjeri Union, a discovery was made deep beneath the city of Jar Lara, an ancient hoard belonging to a long dead dragon, his bones still slumped over the gold taken from both kingdoms. The vast amount of gold was at first seen as blessing for the kingdom, a sign that their old rivalries were behind them and they could accept the gold as one group. This joy soon turned sour as the discovery of a crown that was said to have been created by Durgeddin that was given to the duergar king as a an offering of peace after the orc raids devastated the dwarven city. These claims turned the two peoples against one another, and a civil war was started as neither sided backed down. Post-Union Following the collapse of the Union after the Black Cloud destroyed Orjer City, both the dwarves of the west and the duergar of the east immediately struck out into the ruins of Jar Lara to recover the crown and the gold hoard. The two sides inevitably clashed and have been in a state of constant war since then over the ruins of the city their once shared. Both have had their society and culture profoundly shaped by the conflict between their two people with everyone expected to contribute to the war, every moment of their existence consumed with ending the lives of their enemies. Structure The Broken Line The king of the dwarven holds of Jarlara, along with his family, were killed in the Black Cloud that descended upon Orjer City leaving his city leaderless with a succession crisis coupled with a race to get the Crown of Kings that was lost in the ruins of Jar Lara, the lords agreed that whoever claimed that crown would be the one to declare themselves king. This has become another factor in the prolonging of the war between the two kingdoms as now the future of the monarchy will be decided by its course. Without a monarchy the dwarves have adopted a hybrid version of the Orjeri system of meritocracy except heavily based upon ones actions in the war. Holdlords Holdlords are those lords that have gathered followers around them and have claimed domain of a hold or fortress from which they launch attacks on duergar positions or defend against attacks. These lords have no legitimate, or at least in the classic dwarven sense, source of power as derived from the king, instead their authority is taken from the carrying out of the war itself. The Landless Lords These are the dwarves that have not claimed holds or fortresses but have gathered enough followers to assault the ruins of Jar Lara and gather the lost artefacts that the city held. Most are hoping to find lost outposts or way-stations to claim as their own, even willing to enter into the duergar territory to claim their holdings. Military Homeguard Homeguard was a title giving to those dwarves that would be the champion of a family's house, representing them in disputes between other houses, originally a position for an older member of the house that commanded respect and was referred to for their wisdom. It has since come to mean every able bodied dwarf that has joined the fight in the front-lines, or even a loyal dwarf who understands their role in defeating the duergar. These dwarves are among the best of the dwarf lines, veterans of a hundred battles and ready to lay down their lives for their kingdom. The Relentless The Relentless are those dwarves that have either made the choice to or been driven mad enough to roam the tunnels that connect the west of the mountains to the east. These dwarves are known to be brutal, savage and often completely mad, seeing only enemies in the blackness below. Society The War The first thing that any outsider coming to Dol Borim will notice, though there are seldom any, is that the war with the duergar is the central aspect to every dwarf's life. Everyone is expected to carry out some duty, whether as a soldier or as a crafter of weapons or armour, all must contribute or be exiled. The Abandoned These are the dwarves that were unable or refused to contribute to the war effort, being exiled for their disloyalty to the kingdom. These dwarves are found either on the surface where their live in fear of night raids by duergar or deep below the ruins of Jar Lara attempting to redeem themselves, some becoming Relentless. A small amount of these dwarves escape the mountains seeking a better life in Farthrone, forsaking their kin and their war. Economy War Bonds Gold is still used in Dol Borim for trading among the holds, though after years of raiding and counter-raiding the dwarves ended up using a large amount of coins bearing the faces of the duergar monarchy, which began to offend some refusing to accept it. Unable to mint their own coins as they lacked a sovereign to bear a likeness onto it some of the metalworkers in the lesser holds began to craft rings of gold out of the coins, crafting them into links to wear and barter with. These became known as war bonds and are the preferred method of coinage in the west of the mountains. External Connections Dol Borim has made little contact with the outside world following the collapse of the Orjeri Union, focussing entirely on their war with Mol Gorihm. Others have made the journey to the city, believing it to be abandoned and worthy of plundering only to find dwarves still there though uninterested in dealing with outsiders unless they contribute to the war, though seldom are they trusted. ReligionCategory:LocationCategory:SettlementCategory:DwarfCategory:Farthrone The Honoured Dead Those die in the fighting in the war are honoured communally, their names being lost to the battlefield. These are believed to continue to wage war against the dead of the duergar or bolster the efforts of the living as they clash in the fallen city. The Old Gods Legend tells that the dwarves of Jarlara were crafted from a rock plucked from the flesh of an ancient god, with the smelting of the stone creating a pure metal that became the dwarves and the slag and waste became the duergar. The Ten The Ten have been almost completely forgotten by the dwarves of the west Jarlara, sometime relics of such deities are uncovered in the ruins but are simply misinterpreted as being trinkets of the past as opposed to possessing any divine power. Category:Orjeri Union Category:Boneways